UNITED STATES E:NVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REG I O N 6

M r. Michael Teague 1445 ROS S AVENUE , SUITE 1 200 DAL LAS, TE XAS 752 02- 2733 March 13,2014
Oklahoma Secretary Ene r gy and E nvironment 100 North Broadway, Suite 2350 Oklahoma City , Oklahoma 73 1 02 Dear Secretary Teagu e : Office of the Regional Administrator

The U.S. Env ironm ental Protection Agency recommends withdrawing a propo sed revi s i on to the Oklahoma State Implem entation Plan, which was su bmitted to the EPA on Ju ly 16 , 20 10
. The proposed S IP rev i sion conce rn s Oklahoma' s Exce s s Emissio n s Reporting Requirements ru l es (also known as Subchapter 9). These rules adopt an . affirmati ve defense approach for 

### excess erPJssions during 

### periods of startup, sh u tdown and malfunct i ons. The EPA believes the J u ly 16 , 20 10 , submission was consistent with our policy regarding affirm at ive defenses at that time. But due to court de:cision s related to the treatment of excess em i ssions during p lann ed activities , the EPA ha s s ince revised its policy and no longer believes the revision can be approved. Both of our resources woul d be better utilized by dela yi ng acti on on the propos ed S IP revision unt il the Clean Air Act ' s requirements for excess emis s ions during SSM events are more assured. Withdrawal ofthis S IP revision wo uld ens ure Oklaho ma 's provisions for exce ss emissions during SSM are treated in a cons istent manner and tirneframe as ot h er states i n the country. A sta te is not required to provide an affirmative defense in its SIP : , and withdrawin g the proposed S IP revi s i o n from the EPA's consi de ration shou ld not imp act the applicability of the Subchapter 9 rule s under sta te law. To assist you in your deci sio n , I am enclosing additional background material. We appre c iate your consideration of this revi s i on to Oklahoma' s Excess Emissions Reporting Requirements rul e. If you have any ques t ions, please contact me at (2 1 4) 665-2100 , or your staff m ay contact M r . Guy Donaldson , Air Planning Section Chief, at (21 4 ) 665-72 4 2. Sincerely ,

E nclosures
c c: Please s ee pa g e 2

This paper is printed with vegetable-oil-based i nks and is 100-percent postconsumer recycled material , chlco rine-free-processed and recyclable

### cc: 

### Mr. Scott T hompson Executive Director, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Mr. Eddie Terrill Air Qua lity Division Director, Ok lahoma Department of Environmental Quali ty

### Background Infor mation- Oklahoma's J uly 16, 2010 SIP Submittal On Fe bruary 22, 2013, the EPA proposed a nation al S IP call to addre ss inad equ acies in 36 SIPs (including the federally approved Oklahoma S IP ) re l ated to the treatm ent of excess emissions duri n g SSM events . The EP A is curre ntly requir ed to take final acti on on that proposal by Jun e 1 2,2014
. Publ ic co mm e nts on the proposed national SSM SIP call included significant issue s r e l ated to the approp ri ate u se of aft1rmat iv e defen ses for excess emissions during SSM event s. I ssu es related to the u se of affirma tive defens es for excess emissions resulting from SSM events are the s ubj ect of a challenge to the EPA' s Portland Cement air toxics rule, and we are currently awaiting a decision from the District of Co lumbia (DC) C ircuit Court of Appeals. The Court 's d ecision may h ave an impa ct on ho w the EPA proceeds w it lh th e propo sed national SSM SIP call, inc lud ing the Oklah oma SIP. While the February 22, 2013 proposed national SIP call did n o t address Oklahoma's July 16 , 20 1 0 SIP submittal , the EP A separate l y proposed a limited approval and limit ed disapproval of that submittal on Septem ber 6, 2013, consistent with the EPA's position on the national SSM SIP call. The July 16 ,20 10 SIP s ubmittal was consistent with the EPA's 1999 policy on excess emi ssio n s, and represents a significant improvement in how excess <::missions wou ld be addressed in the Oklahoma SIP, but the September 6 , 2013 propo sed action also include d a S IP call to address remaining inadequacies which prevent full appro val of the S ubchapter 9 rules
. The EPA is requ ire d by t he terms of a Con sent D ecree with Sierra C lub to take final act ion on Oklahoma's submittal by Apri l15 , 2014. Not s urpri si n gly , issues re la ted t o the appr opria te u se o f affirmative defenses fo r excess emissions during SSM events raised in both the national propo sed SSM SIP cal l and the Portland Cement air toxics rule chal l e n ge have also been rai sed in comments to o u r propo sed action on your July 16, 2010 SIP revi s ion su bmittal. The EPA would like to take a timely andl consiste nt approach to the treatment of exces s emissio ns during SSM eve nts, aided by the benefit ofthe upcoming DC Circuit C o urt of A ppeals decision in the Portland Cement 

### air tox ics case. In addition, we believe it unfair and unwise to take final action o n the proposed Oklah oma S IP r evisio n before taking fin al acti on on the national proposed SSM SIP call, as it cou ld potent ially require Oklahoma to w1dergo additional rulemaking before the rest of the 35 States and local author itie s cur r ently subject to the :national proposed SSM SIP call. In add iti on, should the E PA' s position on the nation al proposed SSM SIP call change after the effective date of the Oklahoma SSM SIP action, then a dditiona l rulemaking by the EPA and Oklahoma may be required
. We bel ieve the m ore l ogical and least burdensome approach would be for Oklahoma to withdraw the July 1 6, 2010 SIP revi s ion s ubmittal , at lleast until the nati onal proposed SSM SIP call is finalized and after the EPA h as take n a p ositi o n in resj ponse to the pendi ng DC Circui t Court of Appeals decision on the affirmative defense prov i sions 

### in the P ortland Cement air toxics rule. S u ch a w ithdrawa l sho u ld h ave no impact o n the application of the Subchapter 9 rules under State law, and it would avoid forcin g Oklaho ma to pr oc eed before the rest of the na tion on matters containi n g unresolved i ssues.J.D. STRONG SECBEI'ARY OF E.NVID.ONMEI'<i'l'

Ju l y 16, 2 010 STATE OF OKLAHOMA OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF ENVIRONMENT

Dr
. Alfredo Arme n dar i z , Region al Administra tor U. S
. Environmental Pro tec ti on Agency, Region 6 (6 RAJ 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200 Dallas , TX 75202-2733 RE : Oklahoma State Implementation Plan, Su b chapter 9, Excess R

eq ui re ments Dear Dr. Armendariz: BRAD HENRY GOVERNOR

5 " ti -- c:::; 

### m Emi ssio n s**ep orting**  ·- V) W 

## g; c...

In his letter dated April 8, 2009, Governor Brad Henry appointed me as his designee fo r the purp ose of submitting doc uments to the U. S. Envir o nmental Pr otection Agency (E PA) for approval and incorporation into the Stat e Implementation Plan (SIP) for Oklah oma. T he State of Oklaho ma submits OAC 252:100-9, Excess Emissions Reporting Requirements, for yo ur rev ie w and a pproval und er Sectio n 110 of the federal Clean Air Act, a nd the associated evidenc e as required by 40 C. F.R. Part 51, Appendix V , 2.1. The State w i shes to withdraw the previous submittal of OAC 252:100-9, Excess E mi ss ion s Reportin g Requirements, orig inally subm itted o n February 14, 2002
. The p r oposed ame ndm ents were a d o pted to ensure tha t Oklahoma's program is con sist e nt with current EPA guid e line s. The most signifi cant c hange in the rul e is the establishment of affirm at iv e defense provisions that may r e lieve in d u stry of monetary p e nalties associated with excess emissions during p eriods of sta rtup, shutdown, o r malfun c ti o n . A s required by 40 C.F.R. 51
. 10 3{a), we have included fiv e h ard co pies of the submitta l. If you have ques tions , please do n o t hesitate to co nta c t Eddie Terrill, Dir ector of the D e p artment of Enviro nm e nta l Quality 's Air Quality Divi s i on, at (405) 702 -4154. S in cere l y,

J.D
. Stro Secretary o f Environment Enclosures
cc: T h e Honorable Brad He n ry) G overnor of Ok l ahoma Steve Th ompson, Executive Director, Department of Environme ntal Quality Edd i
. e Te rrill, Director, DEQ Air Qu a lity Division 3800 North Classen Boulevard Oklahoma C ity , Oklahoma 7 3118 (4 05 ) 530-8995 fax (4 05 ) 530-8999